J.S. Bach: Goldberg Variations

Submitted by nonesuch on
Release Date
DescriptionExcerpt

Jeremy Denk's recording of J.S. Bach's Goldberg Variations includes a companion DVD with video "liner notes" of Denk demonstrating passages on the piano as he explains certain details of the iconic piece. The New York Times has remarked on Denk's "profound affinity with Bach," and the Philadelphia Inquirer has called his performance of the Goldberg Variations "mesmerizing." Says NPR: "Once you've entered the Denkian dimension, you won't want to leave."

Description

Nonesuch releases pianist Jeremy Denk’s recording of J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations on September 30, 2013. A companion DVD accompanies the album and contains video “liner notes,” with Denk demonstrating passages on the piano as he explains certain details of the iconic piece. (See an excerpt above.) The beloved Bach work has long been a staple of Denk’s repertoire and his performances have received critical praise. The New York Times has remarked on his “profound affinity with Bach” and the Philadelphia Inquirer called Denk’s performance of this piece “mesmerizing,” noting that his “Bach is expressive, but not fussy or overthought. Technically unbothered by the work’s more explosive spots and remarkably fluid in its scurrying passage work, he was able to make connections between and among bits of material that sometimes occur many seconds apart.” 

Writing for NPR’s Deceptive Cadence blog last year, Denk said, “The best reason to hate the Goldberg Variations—aside from the obvious reason that everyone asks you all the time which of the two [Glenn Gould] recordings you prefer—is that everybody loves them.” He continued, “Yes, I’m suspicious of the Goldbergs’ popularity. Classical Music is not really supposed to be that popular. I worried for years that I would be seduced into playing them, and would become like all the others—besotted, cultish—and that is exactly what happened. I have been assimilated into the Goldberg Borg.”

Jeremy Denk has established himself as one of today’s most thoughtful and compelling artists. He has appeared as soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the symphony orchestras of Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, and London. This past season included a return to Carnegie Hall in recital, as part of 13-city tour of the US, as well as a performance of Bach’s complete set of six keyboard concertos in a single evening at Lincoln Center.

Denk’s previous releases include a recording of music by Charles Ives, released on his own Think Denk Media label, and a Nonesuch album of works by Beethoven and Ligeti. He also is an avid chamber musician and a respected writer, both on his blog and in such publications as The New Yorker. Denk is expanding a recent article in that publication into a book that will be published by Random House.

ProductionCredits

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Produced by Adam Abeshouse
Recorded January 2013 at the Recital Hall of the Performing Arts Center, Purchase College, State University of New York
Recorded and Mastered by Adam Abeshouse

Design by Evan Gaffney Design
Photography by Michael Wilson

Video Directed by Matthew Edginton, Trout Digital
Produced by Karina Beznicki
DVD Authored by David Dieckmann for Craigman Digital

Jeremy Denk is a Steinway Artist

Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz

Nonesuch Selection Number

535452

Number of Discs in Set
1disc
Album Status
Artist Name
Jeremy Denk
MusicianDetails

MUSICIANS
Jeremy Denk, piano

Cover Art
UPC/Price
Label
MP3
Price
9.00
UPC
075597958683
Label
FLAC
Price
10.00
UPC
075597950953
Label
MP3+Video
Price
11.00
UPC
075597957761
Label
FLAC+Video
Price
12.00
UPC
075597950946
Label
CD+DVD+MP3
UPC
075597958690BUN
  • 535452

News & Reviews

  • Pianist Jeremy Denk was on BBC Radio 3's Music Matters on Saturday to talk with presenter Sara Mohr-Pietsch ahead of his performance of the complete Bach Partitas at Wigmore Hall in London that night. "Inevitably when I practice, I don't say that I'm doing this, but I kind of take the piece apart and ask myself why every part is there," Denk says. "You don't want to say you're going into the mind of the composer, but you do a little bit. And then I like to feel that every part is justified, that I can make sense of it for myself." You can hear their conversation here.

  • Pianist Jeremy Denk is on Speaking Soundly, a podcast in which host and MET Opera Principal Trumpet David Krauss talks with fellow performers about their creative process and lives as artists, to discuss his acclaimed memoir, Every Good Boy Does Fine, share lessons he learned from numerous piano teachers over the years, and more. You can hear their conversation here.

  • About This Album

    Nonesuch releases pianist Jeremy Denk’s recording of J.S. Bach’s Goldberg Variations on September 30, 2013. A companion DVD accompanies the album and contains video “liner notes,” with Denk demonstrating passages on the piano as he explains certain details of the iconic piece. (See an excerpt above.) The beloved Bach work has long been a staple of Denk’s repertoire and his performances have received critical praise. The New York Times has remarked on his “profound affinity with Bach” and the Philadelphia Inquirer called Denk’s performance of this piece “mesmerizing,” noting that his “Bach is expressive, but not fussy or overthought. Technically unbothered by the work’s more explosive spots and remarkably fluid in its scurrying passage work, he was able to make connections between and among bits of material that sometimes occur many seconds apart.” 

    Writing for NPR’s Deceptive Cadence blog last year, Denk said, “The best reason to hate the Goldberg Variations—aside from the obvious reason that everyone asks you all the time which of the two [Glenn Gould] recordings you prefer—is that everybody loves them.” He continued, “Yes, I’m suspicious of the Goldbergs’ popularity. Classical Music is not really supposed to be that popular. I worried for years that I would be seduced into playing them, and would become like all the others—besotted, cultish—and that is exactly what happened. I have been assimilated into the Goldberg Borg.”

    Jeremy Denk has established himself as one of today’s most thoughtful and compelling artists. He has appeared as soloist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, and the symphony orchestras of Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, and London. This past season included a return to Carnegie Hall in recital, as part of 13-city tour of the US, as well as a performance of Bach’s complete set of six keyboard concertos in a single evening at Lincoln Center.

    Denk’s previous releases include a recording of music by Charles Ives, released on his own Think Denk Media label, and a Nonesuch album of works by Beethoven and Ligeti. He also is an avid chamber musician and a respected writer, both on his blog and in such publications as The New Yorker. Denk is expanding a recent article in that publication into a book that will be published by Random House.

    Credits

    MUSICIANS
    Jeremy Denk, piano

    PRODUCTION CREDITS
    Produced by Adam Abeshouse
    Recorded January 2013 at the Recital Hall of the Performing Arts Center, Purchase College, State University of New York
    Recorded and Mastered by Adam Abeshouse

    Design by Evan Gaffney Design
    Photography by Michael Wilson

    Video Directed by Matthew Edginton, Trout Digital
    Produced by Karina Beznicki
    DVD Authored by David Dieckmann for Craigman Digital

    Jeremy Denk is a Steinway Artist

    Executive Producer: Robert Hurwitz